- WEB DESK
- September 22, 2026
Hafiz Naeem announces to defer JI long march, says protests will continue
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- WEB DESK
- September 22, 2026
MULTAN: Jamaat-e-Islami chief chief Naeemur Rehman on Tuesday announced that the party would defer its long march towards Islamabad until October, after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked him to postpone the protest and offered talks on the petroleum levy.
The decision came after the JI chief held a telephone conversation with the prime minister, who is currently in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly session.
Shehbaz had asked Hafiz Naeem to postpone the march and said he was prepared to hold a meaningful meeting with the JI on the petroleum levy after returning to Pakistan. The prime minister also offered to announce further relief for the public, according to reports citing the JI.
While addressing a press conference in Multan, Hafiz Naeem said the prime minister had called him on Monday and asked him to postpone or delay the long march.
“We told the prime minister that the people are distressed and that we have no fondness for protests. The prime minister said he was abroad and would provide relief after returning,” he said.
Hafiz Naeem said that after lengthy consultations, the party had decided not to back down from its protest or the long march.
“We can only provide an opportunity for a meeting with the prime minister. We will not withdraw from our protest movement. If the situation worsens, the government will be responsible,” he said.
He said the party’s sit-ins and protest camps would continue and that it had prepared an “A,B,C plan”, under which protesters would not enter Islamabad from a single point.
According to the JI chief, the party’s agenda was not corruption or confrontation but securing relief for the people.
“If the prime minister provides relief, that is fine; otherwise, the long march will continue,” he said.
“Our camp is in Multan. If no relief is provided, the long march will move forward,” Hafiz Naeem said.
“After consultations with the party leadership following contact from the prime minister, it has been decided that we will not withdraw from our long march or protests. We will continue the sit-ins and camps and further increase our engagement with the public until the prime minister returns and a meeting is held,” he said.
Following the prime minister’s initial contact, we are halting in Multan as a gesture of goodwill. If the prime minister provides relief during the meeting, it will be welcomed. However, if there is a delay, the long march will proceed, Hafiz Naeem said.
“We support PTI’s protests. The government should act on Allama Raja Nasir Abbas’s proposal to form a political committee for negotiations with PTI. The cycle of bans and arrests should end, as peaceful protest is the right of every Pakistani,” Hafiz Naeem said.
The JI had launched its protest march from Karachi on Sunday against the petroleum levy and rising fuel prices.
The caravan reached Multan on Tuesday after travelling by train through Sindh and southern Punjab.
Hafiz Naeem had earlier said the party would consult its central Shura before responding to the prime minister’s request. He maintained that the JI’s principal demand was the withdrawal of the petroleum levy.
The JI chief also said that deferring the march would not mean giving up the party’s right to protest.
The party had planned to proceed from Multan towards Lahore and then Islamabad by road. The march had also drawn support from caravans travelling towards the capital from other parts of the country.
The development follows a four-hour delay to the Shalimar Express carrying JI supporters from Sukkur towards Multan. Pakistan Railways attributed the delay to an engine fault.
The JI has been campaigning for the abolition of the petroleum levy for around one-and-a-half months and has rejected the government’s existing relief measures as insufficient. The government has maintained that it is willing to discuss the issue with the party.
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- WEB DESK
- September 22, 2026
